What to do with kids at CityWalk at night?

[Spooner11]

We are going the first weekend in May and it looks like the parks close relatively early (6pm/8pm). What is your favorite thing to do at night at CityWalk with kids? My kids are 10 and 8. Do we need to make dinner reservations for each night or is it easy enough to get in with a walk in? I am used to Disney and planning every single thing. Not sure how much I need to plan with Universal.

 

[wagman67]

The first weekend in May, they close at 6 on Friday, but US closes at 9 the rest of the time and IOA closes at either 7 or 8. Anyway, YMMV, but it is never a bad idea to lock down a reservation...it will probably get busy over the weekend, but it shouldn't be slammed.

 

[schumigirl]

Citywalk can be fun for kids.

There's 2 fabulous mini golf courses.......one alien themed and one haunted.......the haunted one is amazing at night.......they are fun.

There's a cinema too, not our thing but they show a fair amount of movies. They do also at times have entertainment for kids on a stage down by the water......last year we watched them teaching kids how to hula hoop while dancing.......and other things kids enjoy.

You don't need reservations at all........we never book anything. But, you can make reservations on the morning you want them, no need to book ahead of time.

 

[nighttowll]

You don't need reservations unless you just want to make them for peace of mind. Toothsome is the only one I know of that you might need one for because it is so new. If you decide to make them, you can do it about 2 weeks out. None of that silly 6 month stuff Disney requires.

The kids like eating at Bubba Gump in Citywalk. Toothsome and Cowfish also seem like fun places to take kids. Cowfish has some games and Toothsome for the theming and character interaction. There is also a mini golf and dine package available in Citywalk that could be a good deal. Check the menu options first.

We tend to not do a lot at night. We try to get to bed fairly early, so we can be up in the mornings. Our next trip, we are planning to eat lunch in Citywalk and just have sandwiches in the room for dinner.

 

[mjhtvchick]

If you are staying on site, you can hang around the pool in the evenings as well. There are "dive-in" movies at the pool every night usually.


ETA: If you were interested, you could also try Blue Man Group!

 

[janicept]

If you know where you want to eat then make a reservation. When the parks close at 6 pm it usually means it won't be as crowded. But really it's always busy at CityWalk on the weekends. I'm not sure what people do with their kids but I've seen even small kids at 2 am with their parents.

If you eat (even just get nachos) at Pat O'Brien's you can watch the piano bar show until about 10 pm. They won't do any really crazy stuff until they see there are no more kids but after 9 pm kids may not be able to get in.

At Toothsome you can get dessert downstairs fairly quick but you don't get to sit in the main restaurant. If you still want to look around just say you want to go to the bar. It's upstairs and you can see everything and take pictures without paying for meals.

You can ride the boats to the onsite hotels and look around. They have walking paths to the hotels also if you want to tire out the kids.

You can also hang around and get really good night pics.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

You don't need reservations unless you just want to make them for peace of mind. Toothsome is the only one I know of that you might need one for because it is so new.

Is Toothsome accepting reservations now? They were not when we visited in December.

 

[schumigirl]

You don't need reservations unless you just want to make them for peace of mind. Toothsome is the only one I know of that you might need one for because it is so new. If you decide to make them, you can do it about 2 weeks out. None of that silly 6 month stuff Disney requires.

According to the website, Toothsome still aren't taking reservations.

Haven't even heard if that's going to change soon.........

 

[Parker Clan]

That's the beauty of Universal... There is very little planning you need to do.
There's a fun mini golf course there the kids might like

 

[imprint]

If you are staying on-site, the pools are a great place for families to spend time after the parks close.

 

[nkereina]

We never make dining reservations for City Walk and luckily haven't had a wait yet. If you go right at park closing, it may be a little busy though - we try to go shortly before or after. We've done the mini golf and it's fun, but does get busy so we felt a little pressured with a line building behind us. It was also a touch pricey. We also like swimming after the parks. Have fun!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My son and I loved the mini golf and we ate a late dinner at Margaritaville - I did make reservations there the day before. Then we went to the pool for some swimming.

It was a fun evening.

 

[nighttowll]

Is Toothsome accepting reservations now? They were not when we visited in December.

No, you're right. I wasn't thinking. I was just focused on it being the one place a reservation would actually be useful. Completely forgot, they aren't taking them.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

No, you're right. I wasn't thinking. I was just focused on it being the one place a reservation would actually be useful. Completely forgot, they aren't taking them.

No worries, I was hoping it was something new. We are heading back in late April / early May and I would have liked to have made a reservation for our arrival night. It's Grad Bash weekend and I'm thinking it will be busy.

 

[nighttowll]

I keep hoping as well. But last I checked I was told no, and that there weren't any plans to change this anytime soon. It's so annoying as we will be a party of 7 next trip which makes me nervous about wait times.